Test Scores

School calendar fundamentals

Reasons for Concern in YRS Test Scores

Some of the strongest evidence that a year-round school calendar and its hybrids (balanced calendar, modified calendar, early school start) are futile approaches to improving school performance can be found in test scores of year-round schools.

The focus of this page is on actual test scores, recent and past, from YR school districts. Other information on the impact of testing follows the YRS test score charts. More information on YRS test scores and achievement also can be found on pages elsewhere on this website (See: What's New, Year-Round School, Early School Start, Important Studies).

Ample reason to doubt the value of school calendar change as a means to improve test scores is found in the three years of Stanford 9 test scores from Alexander City, Ala., the very first school district listed in the annual directory of year-round schools produced by the National Association For Year-Round Education. Alexander City schools saw steady declines since switching school calendars, and had the lowest test scores among the six Alabama school districts that have used year-round calendar district wide for at least three years. (Chart with test scores or all six districts follows.)

More worrisome data is found in a comparison of these six school districts to traditional calendar school districts in Alabama similar in size and demographics (numbers of children receiving free and reduced lunch). Three testing and evaluation experts with Ph.Ds who reviewed the numbers compiled by SummerMatters.com said the gap in the test scores warrants an investigation to see if year-round school may, in fact, have a detrimental impact on learning.

Pressure placed on school districts in recent years by business leaders and their political representatives to raise test scores and meet new school accountability standards find school districts desperate for ways to enhance achievement outcomes. This climate has been ripe for picking by the marketers of school calendar reform. Pitchmen for school calendar change sway school districts with reports of test score gains from schools with a reconfigured school year -- reports that credible academic researchers largely discredit because of the flawed methodology and comparison data. (See the Research Review, Important Studies Page). Reports cited by year-round school promoters are notable for the failure of their authors to submit the research for peer review, according to Dr. Gene Glass, researcher at Arizona State University.

We hope the body of evidence on test scores posted on this page will give school districts pause when considering school calendar reform and will inspire university-based researchers to examine test scores of year-round districts that are now posted by many state departments of education on the Internet. After a decade of research and looking at year-round school testing data, our conclusion is this in a nutshell:

When it comes to school achievement . . .
the Traditional School Year is STILL the
Best Educational Bang for the Buck!

Below you will find:

	Evidence of the failure of YR School in 6 Alabama Districts with YRS district wide.
	A Los Angeles grand jury questions YRS roll in test score gaps.
	Testing & Evaluation Update: Links to recent testing reports and data.

Evidence of YR School Failure in Six Alabama Districts

Test scores of six Alabama school districts that converted their entire district to a year-round calendar four or more years ago (as of 2001) found no test scoring advantage for third-graders compared to traditional calendar school districts with like populations of free and reduced lunch students. In fact, many of these year-round school districts saw big test score declines since dropping a traditional calendar. Examples of the declines are shown in the chart below of third-grade reading, math and SAT totals over a three-year period. Similar declines occurred at other grade levels.

The scores appear to refute claims by year-round school promoters that school calendar change has academic benefits for at-risk children. Many school districts pay for the extra costs of using a year-round calendar, including fees for year-round school consultants, from federal funds designated to help children identified as at-risk. The Alabama test scores indicate school districts are wasting taxpayer money by using funds designated for at-risk kids to pay for school calendar reconfigurations.

SummerMatters.com is gathering additional information to help determine the degree to which the wide gaps in test scores between these year-round and comparable traditional school calendar districts are significantly different by psychometric standards. Three experts on testing and evaluation who looked at test scores of ALL six Alabama districts, grades 3 to 11, and across all subject areas, tell us the scores warrant an investigation to determine if the year-round calendar is a factor in the lower test scores.

Third-grade scores in reading and mathematics and the SAT average are posted below. Scores for other grades will be posted in subsequent weeks as time permits. The data for all three years was compiled from scores posted by the Alabama State Department of Education at http://www.alsde.edu.

Scores showing the declines for all grades (3-11) for the Alexander City Schools are posted on the "What's New" page. A compilation of scores for all grades (3-11) for the other districts will be posted in coming weeks as time permits.
This report was posted June 21, 2002

Comparison of Stanford 9 Test Scores
For Alabama Third-Graders
Year-Round Schools and Traditional Calendar Schools
With Comparable Free and Reduced Lunch Populations

Enrollment for school year 2000-2001 and number of schools is noted under the district name

Stanford 9 Scores for Third-graders A comparison of Year-Round and Traditional School Year Districts
School District Enrollment & No. Schools	F& R Lunch	Reading			Mathematics			SAT Total
	%	'99	'00	'01	'99	'00	'01	'99	'00	'01
Alexander City YR School 3,560 at 5 schools	41.74	45	43	44	51	49	49	52	49	50
Andulusia 1,798 at 3 schools	41/55	63	64	58	76	80	68	72	72	67
Fayette 2,741 at 6 schools	41.81	50	52	49	60	55	50	58	56	54
Ford Payne 2,679 at 4 schools	41.69	52	46	51	57	52	53	55	55	55
Observations: Lower reading and math scores as well as lower overall SAT scores were found during the three-year period at the year-round schools compared to traditional calendar schools with comparable populations of free and reduced lunch students. Conclusion: The year-round calendar failed to deliver on claims that it will make a difference in student performance.
Houston YR School 6,184 at 7 schools	42.37	44	48	43	54	56	48	52	53	48
Albertville 3,499 at 5 schools	43.81	64	55	58	70	65	66	68	60	64
Pell City 3,499 at 5 schools	43.28	49	46	50	48	54	51	50	52	51
Observations: The year-round schools saw declines in reading, math and the overall SAT total during the three-year period while traditional calendar schools with comparable populations of free and reduced lunch students continued to score higher overall, with some increases and some declines. Conclusion: The year-round calendar failed to deliver on claims that it will make a difference in student performance.

Stanford 9 Scores for Third-graders A comparison of Year-Round and Traditional School Year Districts
School District Enrollment & No. Schools	F& R Lunch	Reading			Mathematics			SAT Total
	%	'99	'00	'01	'99	'00	'01	'99	'00	'01
Geneva City YR School 1,340 at 3 schools	47.09	50	51	46	55	56	41	56	58	48
Piedmont 1,028 at 3 schools	47.47	56	49	42	55	59	50	59	56	50
Tuscumbia City 1,350 at 3 schools	46.59	59	59	60	71	66	64	65	62	64
Observations: Both the year-round school and the traditional calendar schools with similar populations of free and reduced lunch students experienced test score declines, but the year-round school had greater declines in math. Conclusion: The year-round calendar failed to deliver on claims that it is a superior approach for improving student performance.
Tallapoosa County YR Schools 3,447 at 5 schools	48.59	43	44	39	55	60	51	50	53	48
Ozark City 2,844 at 7schools	48.56	40	49	53	50	55	54	48	54	56
Cleburne County 2,571 at 6 schools	48.23	51	49	51	55	51	56	55	54	55
Russellville County 2,327 at 4 schools	48.13	49	49	51	57	56	55	54	55	55
Observations: The year-round school scores declined across the board over the three-year period while scores at the traditional schools with comparable populations of free and reduced lunch students generally improved or remained about the same. Conclusion: The year-round calendar failed to deliver on claims that it would improve performance; in fact, student performance deteriorated.
Daleville City YR Schools 1,653 at 4 schools	48.42	50	39	58	58	48	50	56	45	57
Thomasville City 1,657 at 3 schools	49.73	45	50	47	45	52	52	48	53	52
Coffee County YR Schools 1,906 at 4 schools	48.90	58	50	49	65	68	57	62	59	55
Randolph County 2,257 at 5 schools	50.51	45	47	50	63	60	69	55	55	60
Demopolis City 1,350 at 4 schools	54.98	43	41	45	45	51	49	49	47	47
Observations: Traditional Calendar schools mostly increased scores in reading and math and on the SAT total, while the two year-round schools with comparable (and even lower) populations of free and reduced lunch students generally experienced declines. Conclusion: The year-round calendar failed to deliver on claims that it is a superior instructional method.

YRS Test scores by Grade
--Coffee County, Ala. Schools--
Achievement Record With A Year-Round Calendar
Stanford Achievement Test Scores 1999-2001

Under a year-round calendar, there were more drops in Coffee County test scores than improvement in language and science, while reading scores generally remained the same. Only math scores saw improvement in the majority of grades.

Stanford 9 Scores by Grade for Coffee County, Ala. The test score record for a district using a year-round calendar for three years
Grade	Reading			Mathematics			Language			Science			SAT Total
Year	‘99	‘00	‘01	‘99	‘00	‘01	‘99	‘00	‘01	‘99	‘00	‘01	‘99	‘00	‘01

3	58	50	49	65	68	57	61	53	52	65	60	51	62	59	55
4	56	61	56	53	63	60	55	61	59	56	61	62	56	64	60
5	58	55	58	68	71	69	60	56	59	67	66	64	63	63	62
6	64	56	52	75	69	66	68	57	58	67	64	63	69	63	60
7	56	51	50	56	57	57	66	59	58	69	64	66	60	57	57
8	54	57	56	44	52	53	57	59	59	60	69	68	53	58	57
9	45	45	48	55	57	61	60	62	62	54	55	62	53	53	57
10	40	49	40	39	49	46	52	58	50	53	63	58	46	56	48
11	43	42	40	43	49	47	57	64	59	42	54	53	47	53	49

3 year score change	Reading scores drop or same in 7 of 9 grades			Math scores improve in 7 grades; drop in 2			Language scores up in 4 grades; down in 5			Science scores up in 4 grades; down in 5			SAT Total up in 5 grades; drop in 4

Sept. 22, 2001:
LOW YRS TEST SCORES GET GRAND JURY ATTENTION
(See the startling test score differences in chart below)
LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury recommended the nation's largest year-round school district do a study to determine if the year-round calendar is the culprit in the dramatic test score differences it observed between the district's year-round schools and traditional calendar schools.

SummerMatters obtained a copy of the grand jury report issued in late July 2001. The grand jury reported that many principals in low-scoring Los Angeles schools blamed the year-round school schedule for low scores, saying year-round school students "lost 17 days of instruction per school year under this system."

Two lawsuits filed recently in California over education inequities charge the year-round calendar is "academically damaging."

The table below lists the Stat 9 test scores of the 28 elementary, 3 middle and 3 high schools examined by the Los Angeles Grand Jury. Scores of traditional calendar schools are followed by the year-round schools.

School	Calendar Used	Reading Score	Math Score
Elementary Schools
Clover	Traditional	79	87
Van Gogh	Traditional	72	83
Fairburn	Traditional	86	93
Topeka	Traditional	72	77
Sherman Oaks	Traditional	68	70
Park Western	Traditional	77	79
Hancock Park	Traditional	84	89
Liberty	Year-round	14	27
Middleton	Year-Round	6	15
Commonwealth	Year-Round	28	37
Cahuenga	Year-Round	31	44
Arminta	Year-Round	21	25
Wadsworth	Year-Round	9	21
Union	Year-Round	9	17
Nueva Vista	Year-Round	13	22
Sixty-Sixth	Year-Round	8	20
Tenth	Year-Round	9	16
Rowan	Year-Round	12	21
Fishburn	Year-Round	13	24
West Vernon	Year-Round	5	9
Pacoima	Year-Round	8	7
South Park	Year-Round	18	16
Trinity	Year-Round	10	17
Barton Hill	Year-Round	10	14
Eagle Rock	Year-Round	56	62
Sharp	Year-Round	14	23
Politi	Year-Round	11	23
Logan	Year-Round	22	14
Middle School
Bret Harte Middle	Traditional	19	12
Horace Mann Middle	Traditional	15	7
Gage Middle	Year-Round	18	19
High School
El Camino Real HS	Traditional	54